


Thrown Away

by Badwolf36



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Family Issues, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason-Centric, Post-Red Hood and the Outlaws #25
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 20:57:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16668169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badwolf36/pseuds/Badwolf36
Summary: He’s alone again, just like he always (never) wanted. The pain of his bruised and broken flesh and bones is nothing compared to that excruciating knowledge.





	Thrown Away

_Bizarro’s gentle smile._

_Artemis’ lips against his in a fierce, desperate kiss._

_Their headquarters, their_ home _, burning and crashing and disappearing into nothing._

_A hand on his chest, ripping away a part of his soul he thought he’d finally reclaimed from the muck created by warehouse explosion ash and Lazarus Pit waters._

He wakes up alone in a dark bedroom, wrapped in bandages and thin sheets. He can only pry open one eye (the other swollen shut), but that doesn’t prevent tears from immediately springing to both. The salt of them stings as they slide beneath the gauze covering his cheeks.

There’s traces of a familiar scent in the air (made up of bowstring wax, motor oil, and incendiary smoke). Jason relaxes, then tenses again. Roy should have had no reason to save him. Jason had burnt the bridge between them long ago.

He tries to sort out his feelings, even though he knows that will hurt worse than the burning pain emanating from his cracked ribs.

Jason’s family is gone. Lost or thrown away, but all of them beyond his reach (except, apparently Roy).

He’s basically alone again, just like he always (never) wanted. The pain of his bruised and broken flesh and bones is nothing compared to that excruciating knowledge.

Then the more insidious thoughts start creeping in. Maybe Batman should have been allowed to finish the job (not Bruce; Bruce wouldn’t have done that to him, _couldn’t_ have). But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Batman gave everyone unlimited chances at redemption. Even when they didn’t deserve it. Even when they’d done terrible things. Even when they murdered. Even when they killed his own _family_.

But apparently, that didn’t apply to the Red Hood. He broke the rule, the one rule (had he really broken it? He had aimed to maim Penguin, not kill him him). He broke it, and Batman had nearly beaten him to death. Why were the standards always different when it was him? Was he a criminal? One of the Bats? An Outlaw (on his own now)? Jason supposes in the end, it doesn’t matter.

Bizarro and Artemis are gone (not dead, they can’t be dead). Gotham is, for now, lost to him. Once again, he’s been thrown away by people he thought he could trust with his life, with his heart.

Curling on his side, he presses his balled fists against his bare-and-bandaged chest.

The tears, which haven’t stopped, start to burn. In the dark, hunched up as small as he can, Jason cries and waits for a deeper black to claim him.

**Author's Note:**

> I still can't believe Bruce just beat Jason to a pulp, particularly when he barely fought back. If you liked this, feel free to let me know with a comment or a kudos.


End file.
